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Reading Textbooks Using Parrot

By Barbara McLay, University of South Florida

The Survey, Question, Read, Recite, Review study method has been widely taught to students since 1946 when Francis P. Robinson came up with the acronym SQ3R and first published his textbook Effective Study.  However, students were being encouraged to use the steps in this study method long before the publication of Robinson’s textbook.  As early as 1924, Kornhauser published a study-skills booklet that taught these same steps, and other publications by Whipple in 1927, Cole and Fergerson in 1935, and Seashore in 1939 all advocated using similar steps (Stahl & Henk, 1986).

Despite its historically long and ubiquitous use, much research shows that the SQ3R study method is less effective than study skills textbooks purport it to be.  As early as 1966, Martha Maxwell reported that for college students, the SQ3R method was less effective than underlining (Maxwell, 1966).  Caffey (1975) reported that SQ3R was not effective for use with difficult textbooks. Tompkins (1991) found that eleventh grade students taught the SQ3R study method did not do as well on an American history test as those students who were taught the Graphic Post Organizer method. And Eanet (1976)  found when testing a “new teaching-learning strategy” with college students using the steps  Read-Encode-Annotate-Ponder (REAP), that of the three groups, students in the control group did better than the students in the SQ3R group.  In a review of study methods, Crewe & Hultgren (1968) found that neither of the two studies reviewing SQ3R showed positive results. McCormick & Cooper’s six studies (1988, 1991) showed that for high-school learning disabled students, the “SQ3R procedure had little effect on students’ recall of information.”   Snyder (1984) found that for special admissions college students, outlining was more effective than either SQ3 R or underlining, with no statistical difference between underlining and SQ3R. Benz (1970) found that teaching low achieving college freshmen to use SQ3R did not significantly improve their grade point average. A review of the research by Gustafson & Pederson (1984)  found that the SQ3R is less effective than other methods.  And Kopfstein (1982) reported that even though students know how to use SQ3R, they find the method too time consuming to be useful

SQ3R is not totally ineffective, or it would not be around as long as it has been, though most studies showing its effectiveness use elementary or middle school students as subjects. In a study of sixth graders, Paporello (1991) found that students who received training in SQ3R did better on tests in science than those students who received no training in study skills. Forsythe (1986) also found, when working with fifth graders, that the SQ3R method worked better than not teaching any study method.
Teaching some kind of study method, even SQ3R, seems to be more effective than offering students no help at all.

At the University of South Florida we have developed PARROT, a study method that we believe is easier to use and is more effective than the traditional SQ3R method. This system integrates the steps, avoids the tedious and sometimes un-helpful chore of making questions from each of the heading, and is specific in telling students how to review.  The steps in PARROT are preview, attend, read, review, organize, test.

PARROT System for Textbook Studying

Preview
Similar to the survey step in SQ3R, previewing involves scanning the entire reading assignment with the purpose of familiarizing yourself with the concepts that will be covered.  Previewing involves skimming the major headings, illustrations, charts, figures, bold, colored, or italicized print, and anything that stands out from the regular text. If there is a summary, read it for the first time during the preview stage. If there are questions at the beginning or the end of the chapter, read the questions when you preview. Previewing gives you a little background knowledge and helps focus your mind on the topic to be studied.

Attend  
Attend means you are getting your mind into the right mode for taking in new information by starting to anticipate the information you will receive.  First, think about what you already know, or think you know, about the topic. The more you already know about the topic, the easier it is to read and remember the material. As you preview, create a purpose for reading by asking yourself what you can expect to learn or find out.

Read
Do not attempt to read a chapter all the way through in one sitting without stopping.  Textbooks do not have story elements such as plots and characters to hold your interest or give you vicarious experiences.  Textbooks are divided into sections for a very good reason. You must read a textbook one section at a time, stopping at the end of each section, or even at the end of each paragraph, to use the next step:  Review.  

Review
Do not wait until you are finished with the chapter to review the material.  Stop frequently, at the end of each paragraph or at the end of each section, to check your comprehension and memory. Review by using the next two steps—organizing and testing. Think about what you just read; make personal connections to the information, and make study tools that will be useful for reviewing and testing yourself.

Organize
As you read the material, stop to organize the information in a format that will help you better comprehend and study.  This may involve creating an outline, developing study cards, constructing a concept map or timeline, taking Cornell Notes, making margin notes and annotating your textbook—whatever method that suits both your style and the level at which you need to recall the material. Often you will need to organize material in more than one way. You might, for example, annotate your book, but also make a timeline or study cards.

Test
End every textbook reading session by testing your knowledge and memory of the material covered so far. Whether you have finished the chapter or only part of it, you need to make sure you understood everything you read.  Are you able to define concepts, answer questions, solve problems?  Don't just test yourself on the material covered in this reading session; this is also the time to make sure you remember material from previous chapters.  Use your study cards, Cornell notes, or margin notes, or practice applying the knowledge to new examples. Work with a study partner and test each other by discussing the issues covered.  Testing yourself to be sure you know the information is the crucial final step to making sure you will do well when you are tested by your professor.

We have been teaching the PARROT method for eight years. Students report to us that they find the system simple and helpful, in contrast to the SQ3R system, and as a result do apply the process when reading textbooks. The PARROT system avoids chunking study reading into discrete steps.  It is one continuous process, and because moving from previewing to reading takes less time, students are more likely to do a preview and are more focused as they read. Making useful study tools as they read gives students a concrete method to review efficiently, as contrasted to writing out questions before reading when students do not know what information is crucial. With practice, the steps blend into one smooth process that changes students’ attitudes about study reading.

References

Benz, D.A. (1970). Observations of academic performance by low achieving college freshmen following instruction by academically successful students trained to teach reading and study skill techniques. Final Report. Wisconsin State Universities Consortium of Research Development, Stevens Point.  (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 054075)  

Caffey, M.B. (1975) .  The cloze procedure: A measure for determining readability level for vocational junior college students. Conference Paper. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 116743)  

Crewe, J. & Hultgren, D. (1968). What does research really say about study skills? 1968 National Reading Conference Yearbook. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 031365)

Eanet, M.G. & Manzo, A.V. (1976). REAP—A Strategy for improving reading/writing/study skills. Journal of Reading, 19 (8), 647-52.

Forsythe, B. (1986). A multidimensional approach to teaching social studies. Dissertation/Thesis. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 272430)  

Gustafson, D.J. & Pederson, J.E. (1984). SQ3R—Myth or sound procedure. Conference Paper. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 259322)  

Kopfstein, R.W. (1982).  SQ3R doesn’t work—or does it? Conference Paper. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 216327)  

Maxwell, M..J. (1966).  Implications of research on college reading for the secondary school teacher. Speaking to the Issues: Position Papers in Reading, pages 47-56. The Reading Center, College of Education, University of Maryland, College Park, MD. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 041697)  

McCormick, S. & Cooper, J. O. (1988). Investigation of a study technique to increase learning disabled students’reading comprehension of expository text.  Final Report. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 310584)   

McCormick, S. & Cooper, J.O. (1991). Can SQ3R facilitate secondary learning disabled students’ literal comprehension of expository text? Three experiments. Reading Psychology, 12, 239-271.

Paporello,A.N.  (1991).  SQ3R: A must for teaching science concepts to sixth graders? Dissertation/Thesis. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 329947)

Robinson, F. P. (1946).  Effective Study.New York: Harper.

Snyder, V.  (1984). Effects of study techniques on developmental college students’ retention of textbook chapters. Conference Paper. ( ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 243363)  

Stahl, N. A. & Henk, W.A. (1986). Tracing the roots of textbook study systems: An extended historical perspective. College Reading and Learning Assistance Technical Report 86-01. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 270723)  
 
Tompkins,R. S. (1991). The use of a spatial learning strategy to enhance reading comprehension of secondary subject area text. Conference Paper. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 337752)  

Questions or comments? Contact the author at bmclay@cchd.usf.edu.

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